ND professor criticizes ND pro-life center

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This illustrates the fact that Notre Dame has thrown out standards when hiring some of its teachers. On the contrary, a Catholic university should hire professors that at the least respect Catholic beliefs, if they are not Catholics, as seem to be true in this case. This professor, it seems, is “pro-choice,” since from he wrote he believes that people should be free to decide to abort their children.
 
Who wants to take a bet that this particular professor of theology has not been granted the mandatum. :rolleyes:
 
BartBurk said:
This article won’t be around for long, but this gives you an idea of what is going on at Notre Dame. It’s from the editorial page of the South Bend Tribune and written by a Notre Dame Professor of Theology:

southbendtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090411/OPINION/904119920
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It’s amazing how paranoia distorts people’s perceptions. Can’t you see that this essay is a sign of Notre Dame’s moving in a more orthodox Catholic direction by establishing this center? The professor in question is upset because Notre Dame’s status as an institution devoted to “free inquiry” is allegedly threatened. (I find this ironic, given how willing many institutions of higher education are to promote political activism if it serves approved liberal causes.) This concern is common among liberal Catholic scholars. I heard one such scholar some years ago bemoan the fact that Notre Dame was ceasing to be a serious intellectual institution because it was being taken over by what amounted to Catholic fundamentalism (this is my loose paraphrase of what she said).

But if you have a paradigm that says “Catholic institutions are going down the drain” you can interpret everything in the light of that.

Edwin
 
Contarini said:
It’s amazing how paranoia distorts people’s perceptions. Can’t you see that this essay is a sign of Notre Dame’s moving in a more orthodox Catholic direction by establishing this center? The professor in question is upset because Notre Dame’s status as an institution devoted to “free inquiry” is allegedly threatened. **(I find this ironic, given how willing many institutions of higher education are to promote political activism if it serves approved liberal causes.) **This concern is common among liberal Catholic scholars. I heard one such scholar some years ago bemoan the fact that Notre Dame was ceasing to be a serious intellectual institution because it was being taken over by what amounted to Catholic fundamentalism (this is my loose paraphrase of what she said).

Edwin
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Exactly! I was in college in the 70s when all of the major universities were funding and spearheading political activism against apartheid, Nestles and the Shah of Iran. Not that those weren’t good causes but it is short sighted of this faculty member to think that pro-life activism is a “line” that is being crossed.
 
Perhaps this article was written and published to put a better light (from a pro-life point of view) on Jenkins and Notre Dame and, in so doing, take pressure off the Obama fiasco. In these times it’s very difficult not to be cynical!
 
SIb4G said:
Perhaps this article was written and published to put a better light (from a pro-life point of view) on Jenkins and Notre Dame and, in so doing, take pressure off the Obama fiasco. In these times it’s very difficult not to be cynical!
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I don’t think so. The Obama invite is not representative of what is going on at Notre Dame – in fact, it has become more conservative while I have worked here. A lot of this is being driven by the Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture which takes an orthodox view on almost every issue:

ethicscenter.nd.edu/

Especially note this:

ndresponse.com/million-rosaries.html
 
It’s remarkable that a professor of theology at a Catholic university would take offense at the opening of a pro-life center on campus. Especially when she says the:

“Professors may sometimes encourage, or even require their students to take part in political activities as a part of their general instruction. And of course we all know that almost every university recognizes a number of student clubs that are focused on political advocacy of one kind or another.”

So it’s not as though she is against political activism on campus, merely against pro-life political activism. Because that might give the impression that the Catholic university itself is pro-life!
 
SIb4G said:
Perhaps this article was written and published to put a better light (from a pro-life point of view) on Jenkins and Notre Dame and, in so doing, take pressure off the Obama fiasco. In these times it’s very difficult not to be cynical!
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It’s really not too hard, and it’s worth the effort.😛

Edwin
 
I agree with BartBurk. While it’s been some time since I was a student at Notre Dame, I know plenty of faculty and administrators who are orthodox, and several of them are relatively new.
 
There are many good things about Notre Dame, as this pro-life center shows. However, the best known theology professor at Notre Dame, who is known nationally, is a dissenter from Catholic beliefs. And this theology professor may well not be a Catholic at all. I work at a “Catholic” university. The head of the theology department for many years was a Hindu, and I have met the liberal Protestants they have hired to teach courses on Scripture.
 
True, but the best known philosophy professors at Notre Dame are faithful to the Magisterium.
 
mdgspencer said:
There are many good things about Notre Dame, as this pro-life center shows. However, the best known theology professor at Notre Dame, who is known nationally, is a dissenter from Catholic beliefs. And this theology professor may well not be a Catholic at all. I work at a “Catholic” university. The head of the theology department for many years was a Hindu, and I have met the liberal Protestants they have hired to teach courses on Scripture.
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If you’re talking about Richard McBrien, the good news is that he is getting old. The younger professors aren’t in that mold. The theology department has made tremendous strides towards orthodoxy in recent years from everything I have heard. To quote the Newman Guide:
Fortunately, the theology department, clearly disappointing in the 1980s, has been improving largely through the efforts of department chair John Cavadini. A 2000 graduate of the university said of Cavadini, “He is working in a place that is deeply entrenched, and is trying to make the changes that are needed.”
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mdgspencer said:
However, the best known theology professor at Notre Dame, who is known nationally, is a dissenter from Catholic beliefs.
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Not sure who you’re talking about, but if it’s the well-known and erudite John Meier, I think he can hardly be called “a dissenter.” I applaud him for knocking the discredited Jesus Seminar folks out of the water.
 
It may seem a little redundant to ask the question, but with everything going on, including a recent poll showing the vast majority of the student body in favor of inviting the President, I’m not so sure.
Ken
 
BartBurk said:
If you’re talking about Richard McBrien, the good news is that he is getting old. The younger professors aren’t in that mold. The theology department has made tremendous strides towards orthodoxy in recent years from everything I have heard. To quote the Newman Guide:
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I was just talking to a Ph.D. student at Notre Dame the other day (an Episcopalian from an evangelical background, like myself), who is studying with John Cavadini and Brian Daley. Like everyone else I’ve heard describe these to scholars, he was glowing in their prase. I have met Fr. Daley and was impressed by his gentleness and (insofar as one can judge such things) holiness. Both he and Cavadini would generally be considered orthodox by normal Catholic standards, I think. (Another Episcopalian Cavadini student of my acquaintance recently converted to Catholicism, for reasons of which I think folks on this board would broadly approve–i.e., he was looking for a more orthodox church than he found in Episcopalianism!) Lawrence Cunningham is another ND theologian with whom I’ve been impressed.

McBrien is just one (admittedly prominent) figure. I should add that my own bishop is a good friend of his and my priest urges me to read him (I read a little of him in grad school and was not impressed at all–but admittedly I was more under the influence of conservative Catholics back then than I am now), although in many ways I think both of them are more conservative and orthodox than he is, in spite of not being in communion with Rome (my bishop admitted to me that Fr. McBrien is probably to his left!). But there are many other voices. You may not hear about them as much, but they are very well respected in the scholarly world.

Edwin
 
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